Murrieta Temecula Mobile Notary

I thought I had escaped the requirement for the New 2008 Notary laws requiring a picture ID submittal with your application.  That is until my application was returned to me from the Secretary of State this week.

I have to re-submit my application

with a 2x2 color passport picture to the Secretary of State. 

Under the old laws, since I had not allowed my commission to expire beyond six months a fingerprint scan was not required.

 So, heads up Notaries ? those of us whose Notary licenses expire next year have to re-take the fingerprint live-scan and submit a 2x2 passport color photo with your application to the State.

I?ve been busy this month with numerous notarizations, so I thought that I would just relax on Thanksgiving Day.  Earlier in the week my phone rang pretty steadily, so I welcomed the idea that I probably would not receive a call on Thursday to conduct a notarization. 

I didn?t buy my yearly fried turkey, instead I purchased T-bone steaks.  In the late afternoon, I received a call from two of my nieces inviting me to dinner.  So, I threw the steaks back in the freezer for another day. 

My nieces prepared quite a feast ---baked ham, collard greens, macaroni & cheese, corn bread and fried chicken.  These girls are in their early 20?s and their cooking tasted like good old moms. 

They topped the meal off with dessert from none other than Mrs. Beasley?s pound cakes ? one lemon and a chocolate marble.  I get hungry just thinking about that meal. 

So, the food was good and the company was good on Thanksgiving Day.  The girls didn?t do badly at all for an unplanned event.

Several new laws that affect the way Notaries conduct business will become effective the first of the year.  

One new law of particular note is notaries will no longer be able to use the personal knowledge designation.

Also, a photograph must be submitted with applications submitted to the Secretary of State.  Following is a list of the other notary laws that will become effective in 2008:

AB 886 

(Chapter 399)

This act includes several provisions affecting notaries public:

Under the new act, ?personally known? as a basis for the notary taking an acknowledgment and executing a jurat is no longer allowed. No acknowledgment may be taken or jurat executed on personal knowledge alone.

AB 434
(Chapter 496) This act requires a notary public to respond within 15 business days from the receipt of a request by a member of the public for a line item from the notary public's journal.

The notary public is required to provide either a photostatic copy of the line item representing the requested transaction or acknowledge that no such line item exists.

·        A notary public applicant must submit a photograph of their person to the Secretary of State along with the application.

·        A power of attorney document is added to the list of documents that requires a thumbprint.

·        When requested by a peace officer investigating a criminal offense, a notary must surrender their journal immediately or as soon as possible if the journal is not present.

The peace officer must have probable cause to believe that the journal contains evidence of a criminal offense.

·        Willful failure to notify the Secretary of State of a change of address is punishable as an infraction by a fine of up to $500, willful failure to notify the Secretary of State of a name change is punishable as an infraction by a fine of up to $500, willful failure of a notary to provide a peace officer with a journal when

Willful failure to report the theft or loss of a journal is grounds for revocation or suspension of a notary commission.

New grounds for denial of an application or revocation or suspension have been added for crimes connected to notarial acts: making a false writing, fraud relating to a deed of trust, improper notarial acts, unlawfully acting as a notary, filing false or forged documents, forgery, embezzlement, and falsely obtaining personal information.

Also, willful failure to provide access to a journal when requested by a peace officer is grounds for revocation or suspension.

For further details of the above-mentioned stated revisions, including probable fines, visit the California Secretary of State website.

I had not given much thought to matters of safety as I traveled from various locations performing my duties of a Loan Signing Agent and Notary Public.  

I live in a relatively, friendly low crime area.   Usually, the process goes like this - I receive a call from a signing or title company to go perform a loan closing.

When I arrive at the home, I am often greeted by an anxious, friendly borrower waiting to refinance or purchase their first home.  

Recently, I was given reason to take pause.  A fellow notary related to me that a young woman was killed when she answered an advertisement for a babysitting job on Craigslist. 

I felt alarmed and disgusted that such an awful thing happened to this innocent person. 

Then, I picked up the November 2007 issue of The National Notary magazine and I read an article where a notary was unlawfully detained by a borrower because she refused to notarize their documents. 

Notaries going into strangers homes are indeed vulnerable to attack.  When we perform direct notary work for people that call us from various sources, i.e., website, yellow pages or other directories, we are placed in an even more susceptible position. 

How can notaries protect themselves?  Below are a few suggestions:

1. Leave phone and address information about the borrower/s with someone in your home.
2. Use your sixth sense ? usually when our minds tells us something is amiss ? it is amiss
3. Refuse to meet someone at really late hours ? ex., 3:00 a.m. in the morning
4. Meet in public places whenever possible
5. When convenient  ? have someone ride along with you

I have been a notary signing agent for 4 years and I have only encountered one questionable situation.  Later on it turned into a good notary story. 

May we all be safe and prosper for many years to come.

This week I have been unusually with loan signings and I have encountered some nice people. Last night the couple I met was exceptionally pleasant. 

They talked about their future plans to relocate out of the state, their Southern roots and the recent fires. 

At the close of the signing, they walked me to my car and the borrower pointed out a beautiful, red rose bush. 

Well, this rose bush is not of the ordinary variety.  The rose petals were a vivid red on top and white beneath the petal ? they were absolutely beautiful. 

To my surprise, the lady borrower turned to her husband and said ? cut one for her.  That was such a nice gesture and a very pleasing end to a long day.

The Decision to Become a Notary

So, one day you saw an advertisement or a notary friend told you that becoming a notary could be a good source of income.  You went on-line and searched for schools to get your training for your newfound career.  You studied diligently for the Secretary of State exam, test day arrived and you passed the test with flying colors ? Yahoo!  Now you think to yourself ? where do I go from here?  Good question ? where do you start? 

Well, first of all you can start signing up with about 100-200 signing companies.  It?s not unusual to hear sign up with 300 companies.  These company lists are available on many websites such as Mobile Notary Network, MyNotarySource and NotaryRotary.  You want to decide what price point you are willing to settle for.  I?m not ashamed to tell you that I started with the $50.00 companies.  Starting out, I was green and nervous.  These companies provided real-world experience quickly.  Most title and escrow companies will not consider using your services until you have at least a 100+ signings under your belt.  I later learned there are signing companies that pay well above the $50.00 rate.  A lot of these companies will contact you through Notary websites such as NotaryRotary, and Gomobilenotary. 

Whatever your price, that?s your decision to make. 

Welcome and Happy Signings!